Sunday, June 12, 2011

Why I'll be joining the London SlutWalk (in the Guardian)

Back home in a small conservative town in India, it would be considered perfectly acceptable to "Eve-tease" me if I went out in "western" attire (aka fitted jeans and T-shirt). In the capital city of the UK, things are surprisingly not very different – I run the risk of being called a slut if I "dare" to go out alone in the night wearing a short dress. The two scenes might not be exactly the same, but there's a common thread running through them – you are a slut provoking sexual attention if you don't conform to male definitions of modesty. And that is exactly what SlutWalk is protesting against.